ENTERTAINMENTS

Entertainmentis a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of anaudience, or gives pleasure and delight.

Storytelling,music,drama,dance, and different kinds of performanceexist in all cultures, were supported inroyal courts, developed into sophisticated forms and over time became available to all citizens.

The process has been accelerated in modern times by anentertainment industrywhich records and sells entertainment products.

Entertainment evolves and can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual who chooses a private entertainment from a now enormous array of pre-recorded products; to abanquetadapted for two; to any size or type ofparty, with appropriate music and dance; to performances intended for thousands; and even for a global audience.

The experience of being entertained has come to be strongly associated with amusement, so that one common understanding of the idea isfunand laughter, although many entertainments have a serious purpose.

This may be the case in the various forms of ceremony, celebration,religious festival, orsatirefor example.

Hence, there is the possibility that what appears as entertainment may also be a means of achievinginsightor intellectual growth.

An important aspect of entertainment is the audience, which turns a privaterecreationorleisureactivity into entertainment.

The audience may have a passive role, as in the case of persons watching aplay,opera,television show, orfilm; or the audience role may be active, as in the case ofgames, where the participant/audience roles may be routinely reversed.

Entertainment can be public or private, involving formal, scripted performance, as in the case oftheatreorconcerts; or unscripted and spontaneous, as in the case of children's games.

Most forms of entertainment have persisted over many centuries, evolving due to changes in culture, technology, and fashion.

Films andvideo games, for example, although they use newer media, continue totell stories, present drama, and play music.

Festivalsdevoted tomusic,film, ordanceallow audiences to be entertained over a number of consecutive days.

Some activities that once were considered entertaining, particularly public punishments, have been removed from the public arena.

Others, such asfencingorarchery, once necessary skills for some, have become serioussportsand evenprofessionsfor the participants, at the same time developing into entertainment with wider appeal for bigger audiences.

In the same way, other necessary skills, such ascooking, have developed into performances among professionals, staged as global competitions and then broadcast for entertainment.

What is entertainment for one group or individual may be regarded as work by another.

The familiar forms of entertainment have the capacity to cross over different media and have demonstrated a seemingly unlimited potential for creativeremix.

This has ensured the continuity and longevity of many themes, images, and structures.